In A World You Can Only Imagine
by Aleyahx
Summary: A fun fanfic, about Ellerie Briyahn Cullen. She's adorable but mischievous, prankster & persuader. An amusing character with her hilarious witticism towards her siblings but sugar-coated sweetness towards her foster parents. Not to mention only seven, and an escapee from an orphanage. 'Until' Alice see's her as part of the family. Do enjoy Ella's revelry and hijinks aplenty!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Twilight (obviously) does not belong to me, the characters of the first chapter, however, do.  
I just like to play with the twilight chars and with the storyline, I am just trying to create my own storyline to intermix with that one.

I also need to apologise for the long wait, I had an injury which took longer than I thought to recover, anyway, I love and appreciate your reviews, any requests etc.

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ONE.

"Scraps, _no don't_ \- " Alarm rang through the small girl as she stiffened for the impending shatter, hands balled tight at her sides.  
A stack of textbooks standing high, her newly found pet teetering precariously on the top before it made its final wave and came crashing to the floor, a _thud _and a _smash_ and a shriek erupting from the petite orphan.

Her big blue eyes widened at the scene before she swooped down to collect her satchel and dashed off in a frenzy, only pausing once mid-way to find her unpracticed rat scurrying off into the opposite direction.

"Scraps, come back! I only letted you down for two seconds!"

A cloud of dust arose from the pile of scattered texts, and it might not have been such a big deal at all if she hadn't of been playing tricks with her rodent pet in the _confined_ area of the library.

For the third time.

Ellerie got down on all fours and began to crawl over to where she last spotted Scraps. 'Cause it was less intimidating on all fours', for a rat, anyway."Psst, I promise to give you _two _slices of cheese before bed every night!"

"Where _exactly _would you get that, hmm?"

Ellerie paused as she passed the solid unmoving figure, until she glanced up slowly to find one of the professors glaring down the bridge of her nose at the small child, stubby hands on her hips.

_Not _so con-spish-ous after all, huh, Ellerie thought to herself.

She was still staring, and she did not look impressed. "You insolent child, must you find trouble every hour of the day!?" She reached Ellerie by her shoulders to stand her up, and her light weight made it swift and effortless. "Hey, that's a breach of, of -" The women erupted into a quiet laughter, no doubt expecting this.

Ellerie frowned.

"Unless you wish for further disciplinary action, my dear, you are under room arrest for the rest of the night. Now, come." The orphan scrunched up her face, and then the blue of her eyes expanding as she started off on a well-rehearsed protest -

"Do not even think about arguing with me, young lady. This is light dealing, considering your records and knack for trouble, do you understand?"

\- And the protest then died on her lips. Professor Noel was far too accustomed to the young'lings behaviour.

"Yes ma'am." The girl said reluctantly, before rolling her eyes at how she was basically 'brought' into the room, like the women had accomplished something extraodinary having the girl to obey such instructions. She was used to it, though, and imagined herself on a 'wanted' poster in the staffroom, if caught in the act then rewarded with honour and esteem. Now, she grinned with the thought.

'It sucks leaving Scraps behind,' she pondered, wondering where in the Orphanage he had gone to. 'But 'least room arrest had company.'

"Ells!" Her long-time friend, Leila approached with a big soppy grin on her face. "I was beginning to wonder where you went! The boys wanted to play tag in the lobby, since it's raining and ever so drowsy outside. Want to come?"

El took a glimpse over her shoulder at the whispered discussion, no doubt about her, and bit the side of her lip. "I don't know if I can, Leila."

At first her friend looked confused, and then her eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, again? Really, Ells? You don't _like_ your freedom, do you? _Do_ you?"

Too many questions; and the petite orphan pressed her fingers to her temples. "T'wasn't my fault this time, I swear! But doesn't matter anyway 'cause -" She paused, another glimpse, and then lowered her voice to a mere murmer.

"I'm leaving tonight."

"You - _what_?"

"I'm leaving. Like Annie, y'know? What can I say, she _inspired _me!" Ellerie smiled, tossing her golden brown hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect.

Leila stilled, and her big green eyes began to fill and her bottom lip trembled. "You're - you're just going to leave me, Ells?" The tears spilled and she sputtered, dark messy curls sticking to her forehead.

_Now_ Ellerie acted inert, and she felt awful about it.

"No, Leila that's not it, I just - hey, you should be happy for me, you know." Now, Leila's sobs streamed down faster but her expression changed to grim. "'Tif I got adopted, huh? It's prac - ti -coloury the same thing!" Her friend still didn't cheer up, so she tried again.

"We'll always be best friends? C'mon, I'll send you letters and presents of all sorts, so you never ever have a reason not to smile and then one day, you will find a home too, and you will have an even bigger reason to smile!"

Leila darted forward and slung her long arms around her friend and clinged to her. It startled Ellerie at first, and then she realised that Leila couldn't be mad anymore, just hurt, which hurt her a little too but who was to say that she could even stage the breakout yet? So Ellerie returned the hug and whispered into Leila's ear.

"I'll always love you."

That's what they said to friends, right? When you were leaving them? At least, that's what she'd witnessed on the movies.

Leila laughed but she did not bother to correct her, and then squinted through her bleary vision down to her smaller, and completely delirious companion.

"Where will you go?"

.

.Ellerie's PoV.

I needed some kind of distraction.

Leila was curled up in the corner of the room, her knees drawn up under the dip of her chin, stolen glances of desperation thrown my way. She would not plan my escape. I sighed, and should have known better.

"Kate... Can you hear me?" I cooed through the walky-talky.

"Yes, Agent E. The pail is in position!" Kate was older than I was, but not by much. She had also been at the Orphanage nearly as long as I have, and so we both knew the routes by heart. My chest rose and I felt nervous, arms twitching with ants, right - anti-sea-pashion.

"Target is approaching, target is - "

"Tsst, I _get _it. On three."

"Three... Two..."

A lengthened pause.

"One."

A resounding bang hit the walls of the lobby, and that was saying something in itself, 'since I was on the other side of the building.

I allowed myself three more seconds. And then I ran. Fortunately, there was just enough screaming, clammoring girls in the dormitory that came pushing their way out into the open, to get a far glimpse of what was going on. I was small, the only advantage I really had in that moment but I used it and I pushed past the matrons in the midst of them all.

Right now, too many people would be coloured by fruit, like an oil painting, splattered and mushy - like green peas - and I scrunched up my nose, before sidestepping towards the back stairwell.

There was the advantage when you had a friend that was well-liked.

I scurried down the steps, almost stumbling over my powder blue raincoat in the process, but grateful for the side railing. I passed a wooden door with a chunky black lock and swept right past it, down the narrow corridor, forbidden to any of the students. I looked up, blue eyes beginning to well with the push of adrenaline, and the sudden though of Leila.

That felt more like a pang, there was a place in my chest that hurt when I thought about her but I had to push it away.

One more step, two - and I found the skinny, although long window further back, shattered. Kate was witty and proud all of the time, but this - _this _\- was not one of those clever moments. Glass shards were everywhere and the carton she expected me to use as a step-up, wouldn't stop the shards from piercing into my skin, which was now shuddering with fear.

I had to do it.

Then the door burst open.

Or well, not the door I had used, it was one leading from a hallway that connected it to the lobby, which was why it was so crucial to be prompt. And now, I thought with a slow spreading grin, I appreciated Kate's brilliance - I didn't even see who'd sprung open the door before the pail of slime, green, tipped and spilt with a great amount all over the intruder. The intruder who was now sticky and slimy.

I stepped onto the crate to make my move, but before I swung a leg over -

"Ellerie!"

I sure was tiring of my name. I gave the girl one last look as the slime began to thin out and drip off her face. Just one look, and I stopped, stunned.

"I told the matron's you'd be here, or well, on your way here. So they'll be following your tracks right this instant."

I wanted to scream and instead I shoved my palm into my pressed lips and forced it back. "Leila," I began, a terrible well of emotions stirring within me, "how could you betray me like that?"

"Betray _you_ El? I'm just doing what's best for you! It's not safe out there, it's not! And you can't pretend like you've ever been outside of these walls long enough to know that you can survive out there!"

There was a short pause and she narrowed her eyes, those green eyes I so loved and looked up to. "You won't."

I swallowed my fear, and fought back the burn in my eyes. I gripped the ledge and swung my legs over, catching the shards on the way and I had to fight back a scream.

Brilliance is limited, I thought bitterly.

Leila was pulling for straws, for anything. "You better come back here and clean this up!"

A small laugh escaped me, and it sounded gurgled and distraught. "Slime doesn't make you impotent, you know. You can always clean yourself up."

I ducked my head and I jumped, I didn't look back.

I should have felt bad about it. I should have.

But I didn't.


	2. Chapter 2

The rain fell hard and her clothes quickly became soused. Hair, sandy blonde and damp, stuck to her forehead and was wet under the collar of her shirt, pressed to her neck.  
Ellerie sniffed, the air cool as she breathed it in and it stung the back of her throat.

"S'not such a good - " _Sniff _" - idea anymore."

The petite orphan hadn't thought too far ahead. And 'sides, maps were for big kids, kids that could read and write really well, see, Ellerie was very intelligent and daft at once. She had tried to sketch her own map, red marred with the running colour of green ink, the art had eventually given in and tore from the saturation of the weather.

But "It wasn't s'posed to rain," if you asked her.

After she passed the third block, rounded the corner and ducked under the shelter of the nearest grocery store, Ellerie became a firm believer that Seattle truly sucked. The sky was half asleep, clouds darkening and sifting gently above her as the rain continued to fall.

The powder blue of her coat turned deeper into blue,uncomfortably, Ellerie took it off and settled for wrapping her thin framed arms around her torso for warmth.

"Hey, hey kid!"

Oh _no_. Her wet eyelashes batted against her higher cheekbones as she closed them tightly and wished everyone away.

"You over there!"

Nonchalantly, Ellerie turned with all the gracefulness she possessed. Turning right into a sprint, she ran.

**The Cullens PoV.**

"Carlisle I _seen _it!"

"Seen what exactly, Alice?" Carlisle spoke, his voice mild.

Alice narrowed her thoughtful green eyes. "My little sister!" She said proudly.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at his mysterious daughter, it was the first he'd heard of his family expanding once more, and he had conflicting feelings about it. It had crossed his mind, however, how large the coven could be in the next century, and even the one after.

There was fondness in his cold, vacant chest. A fondness most vampires could not relate to, for Carlisle feels compassion, but he also feels more than that. To him it is not just a coven, but a family.

It also worried him. Their safety depended on them blending in, and in two centuries from now, if there were thirteen or even sixteen of them, how would they do so?

"Oh hunny," Esme began with a light touch resting on her daughters shoulder. "You know how your visions are always changing."

Alice spun lightly on her heel and cocked her head to the side with one furrowed brow. "Mama," She said sweetly, "I can feel it, and it just feels _right_."

"Why is that?" Jasper entered with Emmett in tow. He slung an arm around his wifes shoulder and playfully ran his fingers through the back of her pixie cut, but Alice was in all seriousness, and she pursed her lips and looked pointedly at her husband.

"Fine. You don't need to believe me right now. You can believe Edward when he brings her home shortly." She could no longer suppress her grin as it creeped over her rosie pink shaded lips.

Emmett, however, joined in on the enthusiasm. "Aw man, I'm getting a little sister! Congrats mum! Pap's!"

They were all very confused, only Jasper had the right mind to question it. "If she's a newborn Alice, you know we cannot keep her here. And if she's merely a child there's no question that - "

"_Tssk_, don't talk." She pressed a finger against his lips and Jasper lost his train of thought. He was in love with someone very eccentric and very dear to him, and she could ask almost anything of him, but she could not ask him of this.

Perhaps it was not his decision to make.

"Honey, why don't we sit down and calmly discuss this. Edward is out hunting, you know that." Esme's voice was gentle, reassuring.

"Because it's happening right now, today is the day!"  
-

She had not run far before her body had become listless. She felt she was in a dream, where she begged her own self to keep up and run, just run as hard and fast as she could. But just like the dream, her legs were not as easily convinced of any will and they dragged her down with the weight of the rain.

Just like a dream, she felt detached from her lower half, in no such control. The young girl's vision drowned itself in a raining haziness as she wore from the cold. A body too young and undertreated to endure the harsh weather.

Perhaps the orphanage: the shelter of an overcrowded, restless bunch of children, in which she'd never know a mother or a father and as close a sister was temporary - she was far better off in. Perhaps it was true, she'd be secure. But she would not be happy, and she would never know a truth that ached for an answer within her and stirred her chest with overwhelming feelings of loss and need and nurture all at once.

She'd never know a _real _family.

She needed to run. She wanted to, but the mind was on its own.

"I can help you. I'll find yourself a home, little lady. Now come on out!"

_No!_ In her thoughts she panicked, she screamed for release, for an invincibility, for the chance at freedom even if there was no real plan for it. You had to earn it though, right? The matron told her she had to earn the things she wanted in life.

And she wanted this. Ellerie _needed _it.

Her knee's buckled beneath her and all she could do was to pull herself close and huddle beneath an obscure darkness, farest from the dimly lit street lights.

Ellerie didn't have a god. Or maybe she did, but she hadn't met him yet. Marcia told her that she was always praying to him, and Ellerie assumed that praying was a fancy word for a private, top notch conversation. And if that's what it was then she had prayed to Leila loads of times. Marcia had also told her that you couldn't see him, not exactly, but you could feel his presence.

And that irked her, because she swore she could see someone lurking in the murkiness of the street. And then as swiftly as they had appeared, that person was now in line with the centre of her vision. Although blurred, she could still trace the silhouette in her sight.

If this was God, she thought, if this was truly he, then she shan't need to utter a word and he would understand her. That's what Marcia said, she said a lot about this person, but never where to find him.

She wiped at her runny nose with her sleeve and used the palm of her hand to dry her eyes. _Please_, her body ached and her heart sunk. She was too close and yet there was no real destination, surely she'd be noticed for poorly wherever she went.

"H- help," Ellerie's teeth chattered, her voice so soft and weak but in the next second, she swore it, this person was right beside her.

And they never uttered a word, only encased her in their hold as they lifted her, a seemingly effortless job for anyone she figured. Her purple discoloured eyelids fluttered open to see a pallid face under the streaming moonlight, and a man older than she was, moving swiftly in the other direction to the nearing footsteps but it wasn't long until they faded into a haunting memory of her near capture.

Ellerie was tired, her body limp with exhaustion and her throat itching and burning with an oncoming cold. Her small fists unclenched as she relaxed in his hold and let them sag at her sides, they didn't flop for he was so fleet and graceful at once.

All she could muster was a faint murmur, "Your name…" she wanted to cry with desperation, how quickly her body outed her. "Are you God?"

The petite orphan's eyes stung as they caught with the rain and she looked up, bleary-eyed.

She saw him smirk, only briefly, and reply, "Close."

Her eyes shut as sleep took her.


	3. Chapter 3

Ellerie felt timeless; her body felt suspended in the air as he carried her, her sandy damp hair whipping lightly with the speed.

She dozed in and out, mostly unreceptive but the man never spoke directly to her, even though she'd heard him talking. She couldn't remember how she died, but now she must be crossing over, the world a blur, a clock tower, buildings, tree's – all a blur of oil on canvas. She attempted to lift her hand but only managed to twinkle her fingertips, and again she wondered, was she alive?

She sure felt alive, but listless, perhaps just weak and tired but surely she was alive. Her own heart thudded unsteadily, beating through the cold. But the tiny orphan placed her wiggling fingers over her chest and felt her pulsating heartbeat.

And she smiled.

"You're injured, and I'm taking you to someone who can help you."

Her smile faltered.

They would bring her back, she realised. Back to the orphanage the very moment she was healed and ready.

She could always fabricate a story, Ellerie considered. She could be very convincing when she wanted to be. And when her tallies were low, she would have to make a desperate call.

A glance up only brought her the outline of his jaw, the rest hid in the shadows of the dimly lit streets, and his pace was quickening, so she shut her eyes to prevent her head from spinning. The late hour of the night and her injuries must have sent her to sleep, for the next instant in which she woke she was lying on something cold and level, a towel covering the surface that only barely drew her warmth.

Ellerie shuddered, and she realised just how harsh the glacial weather had been on her petite body. And she understood, with a spark of irritation, how little she had prepared herself for the outside world.  
Fluttering her eyelids open and blinding herself to a magnificent light, Ellerie twitched her arm in protest to the soft touch of someone's fingers caressing her arm. The icy touch startled her, and she strained to lift her head to peer at the intruder.

He was blonde, with pallid skin to match her own, although she was pretty certain hers was from poor living. His eyes twinkled as he noticed her expression, and she felt oddly at peace, he appeared gentle. Perhaps he wasn't going to hurt her or send her back, after all.

"Hello dear, I know it is tempting but you must lie back and rest." Ellerie didn't need much persuasion and she flopped her head back onto a cushion, the only comfort that was provided. "Who are you?" She whispered almost inaudibly, wondering whether that was the right first question.

She could almost _feel_ his smile through the rays of brightness reflecting in her eyes, and she shut them again.

"I am Doctor Carlisle Cullen –"

"Doctor?" She interrupted, "Does that mean I'm in a hospital?" Huh, that would explain the bright lights and the cold spick-speck appearance of the room. But not the serene 'anti-chaotic no-crying children' atmosphere. Was she _that_ ill?

"No dear, you are at my home in Hoquiam, Washington." He was wrapping something soft around her hand, and so gently. "My son Edward brought you here."

She blinked in succession, Olympia was much farther away now than if she had made it on her own and that was a good start, she supposed. And then the most important thing, considering she was _here_ and not in a real hospital -

"Am I dying? Did he take me here because he knew I was un-fixing-uh bull?" Ellerie blurted out the words before she shied away timidly and closed her eyes again, taking deep calming breaths. Her breathing was steadying, and her body temperate was rising and bringing back the warmth to her ghastly skin tone. She couldn't be dying, and she didn't even want to consider them evil, that would bring a whole new terrifying prospect to this whole ordeal.

The blonde man put his hand to the young orphan's forehead and soothed her. "You will be just fine. You have several lacerations from what appeared to have been glass, and the wintry weather gave you the chill, but a little rest and the right patience and you will be just fine."

She didn't know what lacerations were, and she didn't know how to patient, but she remained silent, watching this man with protuberant clear blue eyes and a quivering lip.

"Do you have a name?" Carlisle tried, draping a warm blanket over her frozen body, the damp clothing stuck to her but drying none the less.

Ellerie was afraid, and she was tired, but she was not some stupid little girl and she wasn't about to look inferior to anyone.

"Of course I have a name, I'm not a stray dog."

She folded her arms for effect, and gave her best offended look, and she had plenty of those from practice.

She seemed to have startled Carlisle, and then there was a tap on the door before it swung open .2 seconds after. Impatience, she knew it well. And how many people were in this family, exactly? Ellerie would have a much harder time strolling back out onto the streets if she was so greatly outnumbered.

"Oh! You're awake dear," A women approached with caramel brown hair and prominent topaz eyes, like lollies.  
Ellerie's smile turned sickly sweet, as if she had never uttered a word.

She sure was growing tired of everyone calling her 'dear'. Ellerie huffed, then blew out the cold air slowly, feeling it tingle a little on her lips.

"My name is Ellerie."

And they were both so porcelain in appearance. They looked like dolls, or ghosts, or something unnatural but beautiful all at once.

"I'm Esme, it's very nice to meet you Ellerie." And then her brows furrowed, which looked misshapen on her kind and pretty face. "If I may ask you sweetie, where are your parents?"

Carlisle reached out a hand to caress the women, or as if to cease her from saying anything more. His eyes were also a cross of toffee-orange sweets which Ellerie found odd, and he gave her the look as if to say 'she needs to rest, don't bombard her with questions right now.'

Ellerie only shook her head. Carlisle found that as a confirmation.

"Don't have any," she bit the inside of her lip before she realised her mistake. "Ugh, I mean," There was no going back now. "I was raised by wolves."

The two of them stared, gaping almost. The tiny orphan cocked her head to the side and wondered whether the reactions were caused because they actually _believed_ her. Good.

Just then Carlisle's phone binged, a large and heavy device she had only seen a handful of times. He read the message and his shoulders slumped slightly in relief. Alice was a good source for the truth when he needed it most, and without having to ask for it.

"Well Ellerie, you need to rest now. We'll come back to check on you in a little while."

"Wait!" She called, desperate for some answers. "What year are we in?" Her voice was small and timid, and up until now she really didn't know what to believe. Something was off, and she was going to find out what that was.

"1985."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

Edward's lip upturned into self-satisfaction, and he nodded knowingly to Alice as she tucked her heavy mobile in the pocket of her red cashmere coat."Not likely," He still looked smug, answering Alice's unvoiced question, "All the gore and grime accumulated under the poor girl's finger nails could never compete with _their _vulgar scent." Edward's jaw was set for just one moment and then it relaxed again as he brought the corner of his lip back into a smirk.

"So…" Alice teetered on her toes, rocking back and forth.

"She was never raised by wolves."

Alice felt relieved, even if she had just confirmed as much to Carlisle. She had known of course, she could see clearly where she had come from. But that didn't mean the comment didn't throw them all off guard, and plus, Edward had heard the echoes of her floundering thoughts, searching for any answers she could give to these unfamiliar people. Real or false.

The truth was, the young petite girl had raised herself.

"Carlisle." Jasper spoke as his father descended the stairs, and said no more; the crease in his forehead and the crinkle between his eyes - it said more than enough.

Esme's fingers entwined with her husbands and there was a sudden strength, an urgency as she clasped it.

"She belongs to _some_one, I bet they're out there on the streets searching for her right now!"

Edward gritted his teeth; the orphan's jumble of thoughts were so cluttered like a jigsaw with misplaced puzzle pieces, but he had managed to grasp the basic concept of who she was and where she was from. And, with a frown at his brother, who might never understand – pretty absurd for an empath - no one was missing this little girl. Not until the rain subsided, and anyone who didn't care for her whereabouts immediately, knowing she'd be scarce of anything in this drastic weather, was not somebody who deserved her at all.  
_  
_"You would put her back out onto the streets, there is no one, Jasper." Edward was calming himself, but Jasper could almost touch the frustration radiating from his brother, almost grasp the exasperation lingering in the air between them.

Meanwhile, Alice was reserved, seeing an unmarked, uncertain future which was changing like the flare of emotions that sparked in the Cullen's living room. Emmett was grinning from ear to ear, prompting his mother to go and see the newbie, and Rosalie had just entered among the chaos, her thoughts screaming for some clarity, for some answers.

"Enough with the mind games!" Rosalie demanded, chastising her siblings for playing a game she was no good at.

The fair headed blonde gripped either sides of her pinched waist and glared at the rest of her family, eyes smouldering black, it was as if looking into a flicker of topaz and seeing it wash away with a tide of tar.

Carlisle averted his gaze from Rosalie, drawing them to his youngest daughter who was now seated on the edge of the couch, filing her nails with a small smile on her pump pink lips. Alice knew exactly what would come of this, and Carlisle, without any communication necessary, could see it, and he trusted his daughter whole heartedly. Even if the situation didn't make sense, it would fall together on its own, it seemed.

He believed in fate. And every part of tonight's events insisted that it was.

"I'm not 'insinuating' anything," Edward answered his brother's thoughts, the few of them still bickering.

"He's doing the right thing," Carlisle intervened, "It is something I have taught you well, son, and we will –" A glance to Rosalie, following through to Jasper with a firm nod "- we will do the right thing."

"Which is what exactly, Carlisle?" Jasper prompted, teeth gritted.

Edward's head snapped up, enlightened, and it was most certainly not what he was insinuating at all. The girl couldn't go back to the streets, no, but surely not -

"Carlisle," he began, uncertainty lacing his tone of voice, drawing long and slow and careful, "it isn't safe for her here, either. There are a lot of things to consider."

"We will accustom to them."

"You can't save _every _orphan! What makes her so special? She's not even one of us Carlisle!" Jasper threw his arms up in aggravation, his voice growing louder but not nearly enough to wake the sleeping child upstairs. He could hear her unsteady heartbeat fight its way through the ice in her chest, the cold wisp of frost in her lungs, the rise and fall of her ribcage, the rattling heaves coming from her chest. She really was in such poor condition, and the home she had once called would be to blame for her body's lack of fight.

Suddenly he felt defeated, his emotions in a conflict. But Rosalie was still huffing, demanding their ignorance be turned elsewhere. "You will not turn her."

It was not a question, nor a statement. The edge of her tone, bitter and sharp, sounded more like a threat.

But Carlisle never had that intention.

"There is no reason to take such drastic measures, Rosalie, the girl will get better in time."

It was Esme, so withdrawn and bubbling with hope that spoke up now. "Shall we see who is in favour, then?"

Carlisle merely shook his head.

"The choice is hers to make." The head of the family said with finality, his authoritative persona coming to show, and his wife tried to suppress her smile with glee by burying her head into her husband's shoulder, and lacing their fingertips together once more. 

* * *

[OOC: Hey my super lovely viewers! I'm sorry it had to be such a short chapter but I hope it was worth it, and I will be sure to keep giving them a decent length as consistently as I can! Much love 3]


	5. Chapter 5

**Ellerie P.O.V**  
_  
_It was all about time, now.

I was told to rest, but my mind was screaming at me to keep awake. Time; I knew it was important, I learned so. I did not know these Gods - this Doctor, and that very well was enough to keep my lazy eyes from drifting.

The time it could take my body to heal, and the time I needed to run – time was _everything_, and yet I didn't have enough of it.

The floorboards creaked outside the door, and the hinges were screeching as the door slowly opened. Anxiety consumed me like an extra pulse, electric as it sparked up my veins and made its way to my stomach.

The Doctor greeted me with kind eyes, but a presence that was intimidating, and I felt nauseous.

"You ought to fix your door." My voice was soft, I needed to be brave, but my heart denied it.

He smiled. "How are you feeling, Ellerie?"

Time was _everything_. I needed to run, run before they sent me back -

"We aren't going to send you back, if that's what you're worried about." He peered down at me, now beside the bed. "Unless that is what you ask for."

I shook my head, dazzled at his words. He read me so well, better than anyone I've ever met.

"No, I – I mean, I'm fine now, I think…" A little cough, and I pulled myself up into a sitting position. "I don't want to go back there."

A pause, a short intake of sharp breath, as if he was finalising his thoughts. "Then you won't."

I breathed a sigh of relief, but the breath pained my ribs and I clutched my stomach and gritted my teeth. The Doctor was quick to be by my side. "Lay back down, you need to stay warm so that your body can recover quickly." I protested, the words dying on my lips but my small, frail arms reached towards the barring and continued to pull myself out of bed.

"Ellerie." His words were careful coming from a stern voice.

I mirrored his expression, "I need to walk, and I can't lay down any longer."__

He let me, and I was grateful for I had no strength to fight against him. He just watched me with those topaz eyes, ensuring that I was able to walk on my own. I reached the door, before I remembered that I was in a completely foreign place and I looked at the Doctor, who nodded and edged me towards the right where a wide, long staircase was. He didn't say much, but he didn't need to.

And there, at the bottom of the stairs, where six beautiful people with wide eyes quietened to stare at me, is where I thought the end was. They really would send me back, I thought. It wasn't because of the darkness I saw in one of their eyes, or the hardened jaw of the man who carried me, or even the pixie haired woman – elf? Something of the like – who was grinning from ear to ear.

It was because they, all perfectly unnatural looking, pallid and doll-like, were the same.

And I – I was nothing like them.

I was wearing someone else's oversized white t-shirt with a blanket wrapped around me that hung from my waist. And it was still the newest thing I'd ever worn. My hair was frizzy from the weather it endured, and braided down my back – something I had questioned, for it was not intact when I had arrived. I had not seen my reflection, but I knew it too well, and I must have looked worse off at this current moment.

I was so very tired, and so very afraid.

I tried to pull myself together, but I only hugged my blanket closer. Doctor Man spoke up.

"Everyone," All of their eyes were drawn to me, but the man was a natural born leader and they connected with his quickly enough. "This is Ellerie. And Ellerie, this is my family."

_Family._

I never had a family, only temporary friends, sisters, but they all passed through eventually. Permanent was a foreign word and family even more so. They did look similar, very well looked after, even if their skin lacked the sun. It made sense, but I grew more uncomfortable as my eyes darted around the room. The stairs led to the kitchen, which was connected to a dining room where a large arch for a doorway led into a hallway it seemed. I thought that might have been where the living room was, but the house was quite large and open.

Even as I looked outside the windows, all I could see was forestry. It was beautiful. But the seclusion frightened me.

Carlisle then reintroduced himself and his wife, as well as the rest of the family. They were together in a way, which made them all brothers and sisters in law and that was odd, but if it made sense to them than the least I could do was try to understand that. They didn't seem to go by normal ways any way.

"You don't want to go back." He said it, finalised. And my head snapped up as he said it, heart hammering loudly.

"We – " He gestured around the room, "would love you to consider becoming a part of our family. We know it's new to you, dear, but more than anything we can give you what you never had. We can be your parents, if you'll let us."

Edward, the one who had brought me here, made a strangled face. I backed up.

"You're right," I declared. "I've never had a family before." They seemed reassured, but my nostrils flared and my heart beat so loud and hard that I had to calm myself. "I'm seven, you know." They didn't seem surprised nor shocked off their seats, but I was not a baby and I could fend for myself. I didn't need their charity, and I didn't need anyone to feel sorry for me.

"I know how to take care of myself, but thank you for the offer." I edged towards the first staircase, it led down to where I was hoping was an exit.

" – honey." A soft voice called, Esme, and she reached for my upper arm in a calm manner. "You are far too young to be wandering around on your own." They acted as if I was to die out there, and I wasn't entirely convinced that I wouldn't in _here._

Esme's eyes begged for another daughter, another chance to raise one. Carlisle looked ready to make me stay, to continue healing me, but that was unnecessary. A couple of them left to give some privacy, but the blonde remained with her sharp intensity of her dark eyes boring into mine.

It was an offer. But it really felt like rejection.

"Enough!" I slid back, startled. It was Rosalie, perfectly quiet and then perfectly angry. "You're staying with us, unless of course, you would like us to contact authorities who will send you straight back –"

"Rosalie that is quite enough from you. Upstairs. Now." Esme stated, with her motherly seriousness.

"Esme, she needs to _know_."

"Upstairs. Go now. Your father and I can handle this."

She was gone, so fast, I blinked and she had left. Left me startled, too. "They don't like me." I cast my eyes to the ground. It was Carlisle who stepped in now, using a hand to bring my chin back up to face them both.

"That's not true. In fact, Rosalie wants you here just as much as we do. And nothing would make us happier than to call you our daughter."

I smiled against myself, against what I had planned, but it was heart-warming and it touched me in a way that made me feel so safe and, well, loved. Maybe I could have a home here. Maybe it could work, and if it didn't, then I could always leave, but I would never go back.

I thought of Esme being a mother figure, and Carlisle a father. Esme was pretty, she looked so very delicate and kind and I'm not so sure how to react around her. Carlisle unnerved me slightly, but they were all still very new strangers to me.

"Okay," I said quietly before raising my voice. "I'll stay. With you." Did I have to start calling them mum and dad? It felt so surreal.

They both smiled so broad, so knowingly.

"Then there are a few things we need to discuss."


End file.
